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Chapter 21
When she walked outside, the familiar sounds of a squeaking bike chain caught her attention, and she turned her head to see Ryan standing in his front yard with Craig, the bike upside down, and several tools scattered on the front porch, alongside an oil can. She hadn’t spoken to Ryan since their argument two evenings ago, and she wasn’t about to start now.
“There’s your cute neighbor!” Zoey whispered, a mischievous smile on her face.
“Yeah, I guess,” Beth replied with a shrug. Ryan was staring at her with his mouth hanging open, and she was sure he wouldn’t approve of her makeover, but she ignored him and hopped into the back seat of Zoey’s Chevy Cavalier. Zoey and Dee Dee both waved at him and then started giggling before jumping in and taking off. She had no idea if he waved back since she refused to look at him again.
They pulled up to Sonic and all ordered cher
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Pretty Little Monster Chapter 22
Several players were already there on the field, playing catch to warm up, and she heard her brother’s car pull in just as she stepped over to the dugout. She really didn’t want Shane to see her, not yet anyway. She was sure he’d have some smartass comment for her, and she still hadn’t quiet worked out what to say. She hurried over to her dad, deciding she’d have to interrupt. “Dad? Book?”“Beth?” Mr. Burk said, stopping mid-sentence, his comments about quality oak furniture from the turn of the century losing meaning.“Hi, Mr. Burk. Can I have the book, Dad?”“Sure, honey,” Richard replied with a bit of a sigh, like he couldn’t stand thinking about his daughter all grown up. He looked at Mr. Burk for a second, almost holding the man back with his eyes, as he handed over the book. “I don’t have Lockton’s lineup yet, th
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 23
Beth headed back toward the scorekeeper’s box and noticed Tiffany had company on the bleachers. Amber, Carly, Jessica, and a couple of other girls were sitting with her, and it was obvious from their expressions they were talking about her. With a deep breath, she plastered a smile on her face and forced her feet to head that direction. “Hey girls,” she called in a sing song voice. “How’s it going?”“Oh, my God, Beth! You look so… different!” Carly said, not smiling so much as looking confused.“Yeah, well, I was just tired of being so… you know… lame.” Beth said with a shrug. “My friends from Lockton stopped by. They’re totally awesome.” She pointed back at Dee Dee and Zoey who were chatting and not even paying the Barryville girls any attention at all.“They look like supermodels,” Amber, who was one of the
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 24
It was the bottom of the eighth inning when she heard footsteps on the ladder and knew her friends were there. She could hear them chatting even over the fan, which she had on high in an attempt to keep her face from melting and her hair from drooping. She knew Zoey would retouch her makeup before they went to the square, but she didn’t want to walk out of the box looking like a clown.She turned her head to make sure the noise was actually her friends and smiled as Brittany, Lexy, and Andi’s heads popped up from the ladder one at a time. “Hey, girls,” she said, turning her head back to the game.“Beth? Holy shit!” Andi spoke first, darting across the box and grabbing her shoulder. “Oh, my God! You look amazing!”“Oh, Mylanta!” Brittany agreed. “Where are these friends of yours? I could totally use their help.”“I wouldn&rsq
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 25
A few minutes later, Lockton’s batter hit a pop fly to center field, and Shane back pedaled, plucking it out of the air for the third out. The game was over. Andi clicked on the mic and said, “Final score, Barryville three, Lockton two.” The girls cleared the scoreboard while Beth finished up her book, and then they all headed down the ladder, Beth glad her drink was empty and in the trash so she didn’t have to carry it back down. She was thankful the scorekeeper’s box had its own private bathroom, so she hadn’t had to use the nasty ones behind the concession stand when all that Dr. Pepper had hit her bladder earlier.“Why don’t you let us take the scorebook to your dad?” Lexy offered, looking at Zoey and Dee Dee with intimidation on her face and noting that Michael was still in the dugout.“Okay,” Beth agreed quickly. Avoiding her brother and Tom seemed like a good idea.
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 26
The square was fairly crowded considering it was a Tuesday evening. Zoey pulled her car into an empty spot, and they waited to see if they were in the right area. The group of popular girls was still sitting on the benches talking to Shane and his friends when they left, and Beth had never been a welcome member of their group before, so she wasn’t completely sure they were parked on the right side of the square. She noticed Brittany pull in way down on the other side, like she knew her car would be scoffed at if she parked where the popular kids hung out. Beth’s three friends slowly began to walk in her direction.“Should we get out?” Dee Dee asked, looking out the window.“Hell if I know. I haven’t been on a square in eons,” Zoey replied. “Not since my sister brought us up here when we were, what, eleven?” she asked, looking at Beth.Beth remembered the few times Z
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 27
Beth let out a sigh, sad to see Michael go, and slightly disappointed that he seemed to think she was doing something wrong, not because she cared so much what he thought but because it was uncomfortable to receive critical judgment from him. He was normally one of the few who wasn’t judging her.Beth headed back over to the group of giggling girls. “He didn’t know where she lives. Neither did Sammy.”“Who?” Carly asked, her forehead crinkled.“Halley, goofball!” Amber gave her a playful shove in the arm, and Carly started laughing hysterically at her own stupidity. Beth giggled along with the other girls, wondering how in the world anyone that stupid ever got her driver’s license.A few minutes later, she realized that Brittany was gesturing for her to come over. “What’s going on?” Beth asked, keeping her head up so that she woul
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 28
Beth snuck to the bathroom and scrubbed the makeup off of her face, using some eye makeup remover of her mother’s she found in the medicine cabinet. While she hated to see her normal reflection in the mirror, she felt relieved that she could be herself again now that she was home, and since there was little chance of the outside world knocking on her bedroom window tonight, she didn’t even have to worry about impressing anyone while she was in her room.The door to the stairs squeaked, and Beth made her way up in the pitch black carefully, a wave of exhaustion hitting her. She made the last turn and readied herself to attempt to retrieve the chain to the light when her face made contact with what felt like a brick wall. She stumbled backward losing her footing and tripping into the wall. A pain hit her ankle, and she gasped, trying to figure out what had just happened when the light came on.Shane was standing there on the l
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 29
Keeping up the façade of being cool was easier once Beth found someone to take her to the mall. She decided it was a little ridiculous to ask the very girls she was trying to impress to give her a ride to buy all of the things she needed in order to do so, and asking her parents was out of the question. Her salvation had come in the form of her old friends, which was sort of ironic considering if Brittany hadn’t agreed to drive her, Beth would’ve had a harder time turning her back on the girls who were doing their best to help them.Beth had spent nearly every penny of her savings, which was significant, since she had been collecting her scorekeeping money for years, along with cash from birthday and Christmas cards, a small allowance her mother sometimes gave her if she felt she’d been particularly helpful with her little sisters, blackberry money she’d gotten from selling the blackberries she’d picked in her grandmo
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